--- title: 'Global Lead, Commercial Risk Strategy at Airwallex' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/global-lead-commercial-risk-strategy-airwallex-united-states-san-francisco-ca-cncajraq2map' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-21' --- # Global Lead, Commercial Risk Strategy at Airwallex - **Company:** [Airwallex](https://feeny.ai/companies/airwallex) - **Location:** United States / San Francisco, CA - **Compensation:** $190k–$300k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-10-20 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-21 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/airwallex/7bef59e5-5498-4483-9e46-37c750c6a694/application **Skills:** Credit risk, Portfolio risk, Payments risk, Merchant risk, Operational risk, Conduct risk, Enterprise risk, Three Lines of Defense (3LoD) model, Data literacy, KPI definition, Dashboard interrogation, KYC/AML, Sanctions, Card network rules, Data privacy, Portfolio early-warning indicators, Concentration limits, Stress testing > Build and lead the first-line commercial risk function, defining risk strategy and supportability frameworks. Partner with sales and compliance teams to embed risk discipline into commercial operations, manage portfolio monitoring, and lead incident governance. ## Job description ## About Airwallex Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 675,000 businesses, including McLaren Racing, Qantas, SHEIN, and TikTok, use us, directly or through our platform partners, to run their financial operations or build and monetize financial products of their own. We started in Melbourne in 2015 to build the infrastructure global commerce runs on. We're the regulated backbone behind global payments: not by accident, but by design. A decade plus, 85+ licenses, and a financial infrastructure spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. We're co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with more than 2,300 people across 27 offices. We hire builders with founder-level energy, people who move fast with good judgment, dig in with real curiosity, and make calls from first principles rather than waiting to be told what to do. Read our[operating principles](https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/operating-principles) to see it in full. Global Lead, Commercial Risk Strategy ## How you'll make impact You'll build and lead Airwallex's first-line commercial risk function globally, reporting directly to the Chief Revenue Officer and shaping how we originate, structure and grow the commercial book. You'll define the frameworks, guidance and governance that help the business pursue sustainable growth while making sound risk decisions. - Own the commercial risk strategy and supportability frameworks for the customers and use cases Airwallex backs. - Drive structured guidance for complex or high-risk merchant opportunities, helping commercial teams move the right opportunities forward while escalating appropriately. - Translate second-line risk appetite and policies into practical commercial playbooks, controls and operating processes. - Build continuous portfolio monitoring that brings together risk tiers, fraud or loss rates, revenue concentration and risk-adjusted commercial performance. - Lead incident post-mortems, root-cause analysis, remediation and governance across multiple lines of defense. - Partner with Sales, Partnerships, Account Management, Revenue Strategy & Operations, Data, Legal, Risk and Compliance to strengthen commercial risk capability and scale global coverage. You'll work from our San Francisco office on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. ## What we're looking for Essentials - 10–12 years of risk management experience within financial services, including significant experience in first-line or business-aligned roles interfacing directly with front-office or Sales teams. - Deep expertise in at least two of the following areas: credit and portfolio risk, payments or merchant risk, operational and conduct risk, or enterprise risk. - A track record of designing and implementing practical risk frameworks that materially influence commercial strategy within a Three Lines of Defense model. - Strong analytical and data literacy, with the ability to define KPIs, interrogate dashboards, and balance quantitative metrics with qualitative business judgment. - Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to translate complex risk concepts into clear commercial language and navigate challenging risk-versus-revenue discussions with senior stakeholders. - Experience defining commercial risk strategy and supportability frameworks for complex or high-risk customers or use cases. - Experience translating risk appetite and policies into practical playbooks, controls and operating processes for commercial teams. - Experience designing portfolio monitoring frameworks and tracking indicators such as risk tiers, fraud or loss rates, revenue concentration and risk-adjusted commercial performance. - Experience leading incident post-mortems, root-cause analysis, remediation and governance across multiple lines of defense. - Experience partnering with senior commercial, revenue operations, data, legal, risk and compliance stakeholders. ## Preferred - Experience in a high-growth, product-led fintech environment, particularly in payments, issuing, FX or modern banking. - Familiarity with global regulatory and scheme frameworks relevant to B2B fintech, including KYC/AML, sanctions, card network rules and data privacy. - Experience designing portfolio early-warning indicators, concentration limits and stress testing. - Experience recruiting and developing a high-impact risk team with global coverage. You'll thrive here if - You're comfortable owning the roadmap yourself. - You own the outcome and you don't wait for permission to fix what's broken. - You're comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and moving quickly anyway. - You've operated in a compliance-heavy environment and know how to move fast without cutting the corners that matter. - You connect dots across functions and hold the big picture without losing grip on the details. Learn more about your team The Commercial Risk Control team sits in the first line of defense within the Commercial organization and partners directly with Sales, Partnerships, Account Management, Revenue Strategy & Operations and other Legal, Risk and Compliance teams across Airwallex. Our mandate is to embed risk discipline into how we originate, structure and grow our commercial book so that revenue is sustainable and commensurate with the risk we take. We help the business win the right customers faster, avoid the wrong ones earlier, and build a culture where every commercial leader thinks like an owner of our risk profile. You will join at a moment where we are formalising our first line commercial risk function globally, with strong sponsorship from our Chief Revenue Officer (“CRO”), Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer (“CRCO”) and senior commercial leadership Applicant Safety Policy: Fraud and Third-Party Recruiters To protect you from recruitment scams, please be aware that Airwallex will not ask for bank details, sensitive ID numbers (i.e. passport), or any form of payment during the application or interview process. All official communication will come from an @[airwallex.com](http://airwallex.com) email address. Please apply only through [careers.airwallex.com](http://careers.airwallex.com) or our official LinkedIn page. Airwallex does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Airwallex will not pay any fees to search firms/recruiters if a candidate is submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless an agreement has been entered into with respect to specific open position(s). Search firms/recruiters submitting resumes to Airwallex on an unsolicited basis shall be deemed to accept this condition, regardless of any other provision to the contrary. ## Equal opportunity Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. ## About Airwallex ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Airwallex is a financial technology company building a unified global payments and banking platform that helps businesses manage cross-border payments, treasury, spend, and financial operations through proprietary infrastructure, software, and AI. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series G) - **Headquarters**: Dual headquarters in Singapore and San Francisco, USA; founded in Melbourne, Australia - **Founded**: 2015 - **Founders**: Jack Zhang (CEO), Lucy Liu, Max Li, Xijing Dai, and Ron Li ## Core Business - Primary industry: Financial Services / Payments / Fintech Infrastructure - Target customers: B2B, primarily serving SMBs, scaling enterprises, digital platforms, and marketplaces globally - Mission or purpose statement: "Build the future of global banking" — they aim to replace legacy, fragmented banking systems with a borderless, intelligent, real-time financial operating system for modern businesses. ## Products & Services - **[Business Accounts]**: Multi-currency global accounts to receive, hold, and manage funds in 20+ currencies, with local account details for key markets. - **[Payments]**: Global payment acceptance via 160+ local payment methods, low-code checkout, and programmatic payout capabilities to 200+ countries. - **[Spend / Corporate Cards]**: Multi-currency corporate and employee cards with customisable spend controls, designed for global teams. - **[Expense Management]**: A platform to track, control, and reconcile global business expenses, including employee reimbursements. - **[Billing & Subscription Management]**: A billing platform for usage-based and subscription pricing models, supporting AI companies and complex revenue workflows. - **[Platform APIs]**: API-first infrastructure enabling businesses to embed financial services (accounts, payments, FX, card issuing) into their own products. - **[FX & Treasury]**: Interbank foreign exchange rates and tools to intelligently manage currency risk across markets. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: US$11 billion (latest valuation in 2025, following a fresh investment round). - **Key Metric**: US$1.8 billion in total funding raised; Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) surpassed US$1 billion by 2025. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Series G investors include prominent global venture capital firms (specific names not listed in source but backed by top-tier VCs); serves over 200,000 businesses including TikTok, Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, and SHEIN. - **Growth Signals**: - US$287 billion in global payments processed (USD). - 92% of transfers settled same-day, 50% processed instantly. - Over 85 financial licenses and registrations globally. - Team of ~2,300 people across 27 offices internationally. - Dual-headquarters model (Singapore + San Francisco) adopted in 2025 to support next phase of growth. ## Competitive Advantages - Proprietary, API-first infrastructure built from scratch (not riding legacy banking rails), enabling faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border transactions. - Unified platform combining banking, payments, spend management, billing, and FX — reducing the need for multiple vendors. - Deep AI integration across the platform to automate financial operations and provide intelligent insights. - Extensive regulatory licensing (85+ licenses) across major markets, creating a high barrier to entry. - Strong network effects: serves both direct businesses and platforms/marketplaces that embed Airwallex into their offerings. ## Strategic Focus - Continue scaling the platform to support the rapid growth of AI-native companies and usage-based business models (highlighted by the launch of their global billing platform). - Expand the dual-headquarters presence to tap into the largest tech talent markets (San Francisco and Singapore). - Invest heavily in AI to build "interconnected, intelligent financial systems where money, data, and decisions move together." - Deepen product capabilities to automate financial operations end-to-end for global businesses. ## Why Work Here - High-growth, ambitious environment: described as "the most ambitious work of your career" by the company; founded in 2015 and already processing $287B in payments. - Global impact and scale: work on infrastructure used by 200,000+ businesses, from startups to enterprises like TikTok and SHEIN. - Hybrid/office culture: 27 offices globally (Melbourne, Singapore, San Francisco, London, Shanghai, Amsterdam, and more) offering opportunities to work across teams and locations. - Engineering-driven culture: heavy emphasis on building proprietary technology, AI, and developer-first products. - Notable perks: opportunity to work on a modern financial stack, exposure to cutting-edge AI/Fintech intersection, and a diverse, international team of "2,200 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech." ## Sources 1. [airwallex.com - Who We Are](https://www.airwallex.com/en-eu/who-we-are) 2. [airwallex.com - Global Platform](https://www.airwallex.com/global) 3. [careers.airwallex.com](https://careers.airwallex.com/) 4. [LinkedIn - Airwallex](https://www.linkedin.com/company/airwallex) 5. 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